So I realized that I did not mention before about the source that I found to support my argument. I went on Google and found an academic article on the philosophy of a university education. It's five pages long and has some great info that will make the things I plan to say not just some random opinion. The link to the article ishttp://www.ugs.usf.edu/gened/university%20education%20final.pdf.
I also found a useful article on the statistics of education in America from 2001. The url is
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/2002130.pdf
Friday, December 17, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
"Are modern-day college campuses technopolies?"
Since I have chosen to write my final paper on Technopoly, I had to refresh my memory on its main arguments and information. I did this by not only skimming through the book but also by reading my previous blog entries on the book; it was funny to read how I titled one blog entry "Not So Crazy Niel Postman". Looking back on my first impression of the book, I really did think that Niel Postman's argument was illogical and his story about King Thamus was...interesting. I mean, not only was Postman creating words like "technopoly" but he was also referring to Greek mythology and relating it to technology in America. However, the connection between today's society's use of technology and the invention of writing that is discussed in the story of King Thamus makes sense to me now. Postman is basically trying to point out that technological innovations have dumbed down American society the way King Thamus predicted writing would make people use their minds less.
In order to connect Technopoly to a modern-day college campus, I need to decide whether the campuses are technopolies or not. Technopoly, a term invented and therefore defined by Niel Postman, is roughly a society that relies greatly on technology; so much so that the society's aim is "... a grand reductionism in which human life must find its meaning in machinery and technique."(pg 52). Postman mentions how the United States is the only country that is currently a Technopoly and that it keeps a careful eye on other countries that are trying to become Technopolies like Japan. The origin, according to Postman, of Technopoly can be traced back to the nineteenth-century when Auguste Comte tried to construct a science of society through positivism and sociology (pg 52).
Since it is encouraged to focus on the modern-day college campus and education system, I have to do some more research on those topics but from my own conclusion of them based on experience is as follows: modern-day college campuses in the United States are technopolies. This is based on the reliance on electronic grading, mail, scheduling and other functions that professors and students have. The intent of higher education in the United States is to produce educated people who can contribute to society through various employment. Colleges also have the goal to produce well rounded and the utilization of computers prepares students for jobs which will most likely rely on computers in one form or another. Postman claims that being a Technoloply is fine as long as people are still educated about other historical development of humanity like language and history; since colleges provide education on those things, I don't think Postman objects to the technology of college campuses.
In order to connect Technopoly to a modern-day college campus, I need to decide whether the campuses are technopolies or not. Technopoly, a term invented and therefore defined by Niel Postman, is roughly a society that relies greatly on technology; so much so that the society's aim is "... a grand reductionism in which human life must find its meaning in machinery and technique."(pg 52). Postman mentions how the United States is the only country that is currently a Technopoly and that it keeps a careful eye on other countries that are trying to become Technopolies like Japan. The origin, according to Postman, of Technopoly can be traced back to the nineteenth-century when Auguste Comte tried to construct a science of society through positivism and sociology (pg 52).
Since it is encouraged to focus on the modern-day college campus and education system, I have to do some more research on those topics but from my own conclusion of them based on experience is as follows: modern-day college campuses in the United States are technopolies. This is based on the reliance on electronic grading, mail, scheduling and other functions that professors and students have. The intent of higher education in the United States is to produce educated people who can contribute to society through various employment. Colleges also have the goal to produce well rounded and the utilization of computers prepares students for jobs which will most likely rely on computers in one form or another. Postman claims that being a Technoloply is fine as long as people are still educated about other historical development of humanity like language and history; since colleges provide education on those things, I don't think Postman objects to the technology of college campuses.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Final Paper
When looking at the potential topics for my final paper, it's hard to decide which topic will produce a better paper. The topic on Technopolyis interesting because it deals with college education which I am currently experiencing; therefore I have a good idea of how to connect Technopoly to the modern-day college campus. However there is a warning to not to comment too much on my generation in general so that means that I will need to do some research and get some statistics on college education in the United States.
The second topic which connects Made to Break to the green movement also sounds interesting. I have taken an environmental class before so I can use some of that knowledge to write the paper. However, I will need to research for some sources so that the information on the green movement can be cited in the paper. The book Made to Break has some information on financial and social interests of the American society so that will be useful in the paper.
Overall, I think the essay on Niel Postman's Technopoly will be more interesting to write because it is on issues that directly affect me. The green movement is important to me but writing a paper on that does not sound as interesting as writing about a college campus. I am in college and so why not explore the intent and role of higher education? I have already got some backgound information on the green movement so Technopoly it is. I am ready to expose the college campuses of their technophile ways.
The second topic which connects Made to Break to the green movement also sounds interesting. I have taken an environmental class before so I can use some of that knowledge to write the paper. However, I will need to research for some sources so that the information on the green movement can be cited in the paper. The book Made to Break has some information on financial and social interests of the American society so that will be useful in the paper.
Overall, I think the essay on Niel Postman's Technopoly will be more interesting to write because it is on issues that directly affect me. The green movement is important to me but writing a paper on that does not sound as interesting as writing about a college campus. I am in college and so why not explore the intent and role of higher education? I have already got some backgound information on the green movement so Technopoly it is. I am ready to expose the college campuses of their technophile ways.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
"My goal was never to just create a company." -Mark Zuckerberg
The last seven chapters of David Kirkpatrick's book The Facebook Effect presented some interesting concepts that Mark Zuckerberg has in regards to the usage of Facebook. Zuckerberg wanted Facebook to be a platform for other companies to create applications for it; this strategy has been successful "As more and more software companies embrace the platform as Facebook's dominance of social network computing spreads around the globe..."( pg 233). By the end of 2009 180 countries were using Facebook and the number of people using it "was growing about a million...per day"(pg 275). And so, Zuckerberg's resistance to advertisement had to cave in despite Microsoft's $15 billion investment in order to afford and manage enough servers to support Facebook. With the help of Sheryl Sandberg, advertising became Facebook's revenue with $300-$400 revenue in 2009 (pg 273). To respect Zuckerberg's wish to avoid bombarding users with advertisement the way television commercials do, Facebook uses the strategy of charging a comparatively low advertisement fee but displaying many advertisement (pg 273); this provides users with advertisements that are more personalized for users based on algorithms.
David Kirkpatrick's discussion of society's "sense of tribal separation" is very interesting; the question of whether Facebook reinforces this separation or disables it is left for the reader to consider. I personally believe that Facebook is erasing this tribal separation because users are able to broaden their social network through the use of commercial pages. For example, if two people "Like" the same band on Facebook, they might "Friend" each other and build a friendship. The "global village", as Kirkpatrick puts it,is more connected through the technology of Facebook and therefore the tribal separation is lessened. Zuckerberg's goal to partake in a gift economy instead of a market economy with Facebook users is another interesting concept. My personal opinion is that with the growing population of the Facebook community, a gift economy cannot continue to carry on. This is because the "freeloader" of this gift economy that Zuckerberg mentions is essentially Facebook itself. It's true that Facebook has provided the agency for easier social networking but when the gains of Facebook is compared to the gains of users, there is an obvious imbalance. This is not to say that users will discontinue their association with Facebook but instead, users may demand their share of profits from Facebook. This will shift the economy of Facebook from a gift economy to a market economy.
Eric G. Swedin and David L. Ferro discuss in their book Computers how the invention of the computer was an international effort because people throughout the world and ages have had a fascination with computational skill and devices. Kirkpatrick's concept of the global village can be used to support this convergence of ideas and innovation; fitting the entire world into the context of a village makes the world seem smaller and more connected. Thus, the American culture is one that seeks to connect with people around the world and through the use of technology, this culture is supported and magnified.
David Kirkpatrick's discussion of society's "sense of tribal separation" is very interesting; the question of whether Facebook reinforces this separation or disables it is left for the reader to consider. I personally believe that Facebook is erasing this tribal separation because users are able to broaden their social network through the use of commercial pages. For example, if two people "Like" the same band on Facebook, they might "Friend" each other and build a friendship. The "global village", as Kirkpatrick puts it,is more connected through the technology of Facebook and therefore the tribal separation is lessened. Zuckerberg's goal to partake in a gift economy instead of a market economy with Facebook users is another interesting concept. My personal opinion is that with the growing population of the Facebook community, a gift economy cannot continue to carry on. This is because the "freeloader" of this gift economy that Zuckerberg mentions is essentially Facebook itself. It's true that Facebook has provided the agency for easier social networking but when the gains of Facebook is compared to the gains of users, there is an obvious imbalance. This is not to say that users will discontinue their association with Facebook but instead, users may demand their share of profits from Facebook. This will shift the economy of Facebook from a gift economy to a market economy.
Eric G. Swedin and David L. Ferro discuss in their book Computers how the invention of the computer was an international effort because people throughout the world and ages have had a fascination with computational skill and devices. Kirkpatrick's concept of the global village can be used to support this convergence of ideas and innovation; fitting the entire world into the context of a village makes the world seem smaller and more connected. Thus, the American culture is one that seeks to connect with people around the world and through the use of technology, this culture is supported and magnified.
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